Trump Blocks $200M In Medicaid Funds For California

CNN: Trump Administration Says It Will Withhold $200 Million In California Medicaid Funding Over Abortion Insurance Requirement 
The Trump administration announced two measures on Wednesday seeking to restrict abortion access, including withholding hundreds of millions in federal funding from California, one in a series of parting shots from an outgoing administration that has repeatedly sought to limit the procedure on religious protection grounds. (Kelly, 12/17)

Fox News: Trump Administration Blocks Funding For California, Brings DOJ Suit Over Abortion Issues
The Trump administration announced two key actions Wednesday designed to protect entities that sought to avoid supporting abortion. Both announcements addressed longstanding issues handled by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights. In a press release Wednesday, HHS said it would block $200 million in federal Medicaid funds slated for California "due to the state illegally mandating that all health care plans subject to regulation by the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) cover abortion without exclusion or limitation." (Dorman, 12/16)

In other news, Vice President Mike Pence will get the COVID vaccine Friday —

NPR: Pence To Take COVID-19 Vaccine Publicly
Vice President Pence will publicly receive a COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, the White House has announced. Surgeon General Jerome Adams and second lady Karen Pence also will receive the vaccine. President-elect Joe Biden is expected to receive the vaccine "as soon as next week," a transition official confirmed to NPR. Biden has also said he would get the vaccine publicly. (Wise, 12/16)

The Hill: Pence, Other Trump Officials To Get Vaccine Publicly 
Vice President Pence will receive the vaccine for the novel coronavirus publicly on Friday as part of an effort by officials to build public confidence in the vaccine. Pence, the leader of the White House coronavirus task force, second lady Karen Pence and Surgeon General Jerome Adams will all receive the vaccine for COVID-19 at the White House, Pence’s office announced on Wednesday. (Chalfant and Castronuovo, 12/16)

And more Trump administration officials are in quarantine —

The Hill: Interior Secretary Tests Positive For COVID-19 After Two Days Of Meetings With Officials: Report 
Department of Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has tested positive for COVID-19 following days of meetings with political appointees, a department spokesman confirmed to The Washington Post Wednesday. Interior spokesman Nicholas Goodwin told the Post in an email that Bernhardt, 51, received the diagnosis ahead of a scheduled Cabinet meeting with President Trump Wednesday, which Bernhardt did not attend following his positive test. (Castronuovo, 12/16)

Politico: Pompeo In Quarantine After Coronavirus Exposure 
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in quarantine after he was exposed to someone with the coronavirus, the State Department said Wednesday. The secretary himself has tested negative so far. The announcement provided little information about how exactly Pompeo may have been exposed to Covid-19. But the secretary of state has been patchy in his efforts to follow social distancing rules recommended by public health experts. (Toosi, 12/16)

The Wall Street Journal: Pompeo Cancels Party For Ambassadors After Coronavirus Exposure 
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo canceled a holiday reception with foreign ambassadors on Wednesday after he was exposed to someone who tested positive for Covid-19, according to a State Department official and a diplomat who was invited to the event. A State Department spokesman said Mr. Pompeo would go into quarantine after coming into contact with the unidentified person who had tested positive. “The secretary has been tested and is negative,” the spokesman said. “He is being closely monitored by the department’s medical team.” (Mauldin, 12/16)